In His Arms Book

In His Arms follows the last of the trio of immigrant women we met in Dear Lady, the first in the Coming to America series. Now we finally hear the true tale of the Irish firebrand, Mary Mallone and her dreams of coming to America to join her husband-to-be and father of her son. Her fairy tale would come to an abrupt and shocking end when she discovers he not only died, but never intended to marry her. She enters a life of servitude, but runs afoul of the law when she strikes her employer after pursuing her with unwelcome advances. Seeing no escape, she ends up fleeing west in the employ of a saloon madam who is terminal with consumption. She is drawn to the town sheriff, but fears him also. What will happen to her son if her secret is discovered?

This story is an improvement over the last in the series, but still not as good as the first. I enjoyed the Irish angle, particularly in light of the author's own Irish heritage, but it still got a little bit repetitive and there seemed to be something missing in the realm of character development. I would have liked to see more backstory for the sheriff all the way through the story. Toward the end, Hatcher switched from a 1st person narrative to a plot summary, 3rd person style. It felt rushed and quickly wrapped up. It could have been better.